Monday, April 27

We were up at 6:30 a.m. so I could be ready to go to water aerobics by 7:30. The pool was much cooler this morning, so it was shivery getting into it. The smart folks climb down the steps and immediately squat to get wet quickly. Not me. I inch my way in, standing on tippy-toes as I go deeper into the water, postponing the inevitable for as long as possible. But then I'm a pull-the-Bandaid-off-one-hair-at-a-time person, too.

The talk today, of course, was all about the swine flu, and how it will affect our community. One lady is scheduled to go on a cruise with her family next week, and she wonders if the cruise line will cancel.

The pool is scheduled to close for summer break May 15 to June 15, so hopefully the flu will not set that date back. In fact, hopefully it will miss our state and community altogether (wishful thinking, I'm afraid).

A story from the pool: last week, one of the ladies went on a tour bus trip to Memphis, sponsored by a local bank. The group toured the Pink Palace and Graceland, before making the long trip back home. Unfortunately, the bus's air conditioner quit on this very warm day, and some policy of the bus line forbid opening the windows. By the time the lady got home, she was ill (as were others on the bus, I imagine). The lady said she felt very sorry for the driver, who was facing the sun all the whole trip home.

When I got back home, I saw that Hubbie and Mother had shopped for Better Boy tomato plants, and were planting them in the raised veggie garden. At water aerobics, a young woman asked if any of us would like free beefsteak tomato plants that she had cultivated from seeds (just to see if she could). I asked for two or three of them. Hubbie and Mother said there is room for two in the bed with the others. I'll pick those up on Wednesday, when I go to the pool.

While they were doing that, I stored my winter sweaters and turtleneck shirts and got out my spring and summer clothes.

For lunch, Hubbie and I had chef's salad with crackers, and fresh fruit for dessert. After lunch, we went to the WDCS for groceries to satisfy this week's menu that we planned yesterday.

Back home, we relaxed for a while. I worked a Numbrix puzzle from Sunday's newspaper, while Hubbie and Mother dozed. It's a cloudy day with the threat of thunderstorms, so I think the barometric pressure is making us feel lazy and drowsy. Mother is even complaining of a mild headache.

Supper tonight was leftover pork roast, mashed potatoes, and veggies. I'm sure you've noticed that around here, we do leftovers a lot. In fact, we plan meals that will assure leftovers. Saves a lot of time and energy, and it's economical.

After supper, we spent an hour of down time with no TV. Hubbie used his time to make dog biscuits for Shih Tzu. I wrote a note to Friend from Texas and included a picture of her standing with Mother and me in a field of bluebonnets, and I then I answered e-mails.

Later, we watched the movie, "Rails and Ties," a PG-13 film starring Kevin Bacon and Marcia Gay Harden, about a train engineer who hits a suicidal woman who has parked her car on the tracks. Her son escapes the car at the last minute, and then forms a relationship with the engineer and his terminally ill wife.

Finally, we watched tonight's episode of "Dancing with the Stars."